Standing on the Verge

After last week, I feel like I'm on the verge of making real progress.  The MyFitnessPal app and website seem to have been the missing piece of my fitness puzzle.  Keeping a more accurate count of my caloric intake is turning into real progress.

I've been using the app for about three weeks now and the results have been noticeable.  I've moved down a belt notch and the few 38" waist pants that I'm still wearing are becoming too large.

I got in six days of exercise last week that included 6 weight training sessions and 4 Zumba classes.  After Friday's workout, I accepted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from a friend.  Let me tell you, having a bucket full of ice cold water dumped on my head was quite the experience.

I've been getting more positive comments on the body shaping, lately.  One person asked if I was losing weight.  Another told me that I was losing weight.  Still another mentioned that I looked cute in my workout gear.  Cute wasn't the look that I was going for, but I'll take it (lol).

I was successful in reaching the goal that I set for myself.  I was able to comfortably wear the smaller cut shorts to the reunion picnic!  As an added benefit, I got into some of the other 36" waist pants that I've had waiting in the wings.  As was the case with the shorts, they aren't comfortable...yet.  But, coming from wearing size 42s, just getting into size 36s doesn't seem quite real.

I'm feeling very positive and encouraged.  I even considered getting on the scale, but decided to wait until the end of September or the beginning of October to weigh in.  I'll have been following my updated diet plan for about 10 weeks by then and should have lost at least 10 pounds.

I drank too much Coca Cola this week.  Still not up to my old levels, but more than I should have.  I had couple of Cokes on the nights that we ate out with friends and I shared a large Coke and a tub of popcorn at the movies.  The saving grace was that the workout calories that I'd banked covered my excesses.  I was still remained under calorie count.  The value of regular exercise paid immediate dividends in this case.

Speaking of exercise, I've gotten so used to doing it, that I feel a little guilty on my rest days.  On those days, I make sure that I at least get in a walk.  Now, I've found a place to walk that is really convenient.  The city added a fitness trail to some nearby green space.  Twenty exercise stations make up the fitness trail. You walk briskly or jog between stations.  I tried it out and was able to work through about two thirds of the stations.  Eventually I'l make it through all of them.

Jumping back a paragraph, the movie that I saw was "Get On Up (The James Brown Story)."  It was an excellent movie. I predict a Best Actor nomination for Chadwick Boseman and Best Supporting Actor nod to Dan Aykroyd.  I highly recommend it.

Like I wrote earlier, I think that I'm on the verge of finally breaking through on this fitness journey.  Suddenly, the journey doesn't feel like I have that much longer to go before I reach my goal.  Not that it has gotten any easier, but I feel like I have a good plan and that its paying off.  I'm feeling more confident that I'll get it done within the time frame that I'm shooting for.  The last thing I want to do is to be facing the same challenges as I'm dealing with now, at the two year point.  Hope and fear are great motivators!

I'll leave you with couple of pics taken near the fitness trail.  I was goofing around, having "Fun with Boulders!"

No boulders were harmed in the making of these photos.